December
2006
Blogletter #101
ONLINE CLASSES / COMING UP TALLER AWARD / ART-Y SCHOOLS? / NEVER TOO LATE / GREAT NEW BOOK?
ONLINE CLASSES FOR LIBRARIANS WHO SERVE TEENS YALSA, the Young Adult Services Association of the American Library Association, announces that, on December 15, registration will open for several online classes that YALSA is offering in February and March. Most of the classes last 6 weeks. Among the course offerings are:
- FINDING THE RIGHT BOOK FOR THE RIGHT TEEN AT THE RIGHT TIME
- NEW TECHNOLOGY AND NEW LITERACIES FOR TEENS
- OUTREACHING TEENS
- PAIN IN THE BRAIN: ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT AND LIBRARY BEHAVIOR
- POWER PROGRAMMING FOR TEENS
To find out more about these and other online courses, how to register, the tuition, and tech requirements, go to:http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/onlinecourses/info.htm
COMING UP TALLER AWARDS One of the questions the Alaska State Library receives most often from school and public librarians is: Are there any grants available for my library? This fall I have included news of at least one grant possibility in almost every e-newsletter. This week’s award is one from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities called the Coming Up Taller Award that provides a grant of $10,000 to “recognize and reward” outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs in the arts and humanities. The deadline for this grant is January 31, 2007. For more information, see http://www.imls.gov/news/2006/112906.shtm I urge Alaska libraries with something special to share to go for awards or grants like this one. You may feel like your library is small and far from the Center of the Library Universe, but small Alaska school and public libraries have won such national grants and awards as the U.S. Department of Education’s Improving Literacy through School Libraries, the National Endowment for the Humanities Prime Time Family Reading Award, Laura Bush Foundation Grants, NEH Bookshelf Awards, IMLS Leadership and Enhancement grants, and many more. Most recently the Anchorage Municipal Libraries and the branch of UAA in Homer were two of 72 national winners of National Endowment for the Arts BIG READ awards. Anchorage chose the Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451 and will be sharing their program with the state; Homer will focus on The Joy Luck Club and is planning to have author Amy Tan there in person.
ART IN SCHOOLS? Does your school principal go all out to create an active and vibrant art program in your school? Is there a principal in your district who is known for making art education happen in a big way despite all the pressures of NCLB? If so, the Alaska State Council on the Arts is looking for names and addresses. They would like our cooperation in finding some outstanding instructional leaders who have integrated arts into a wide range of school activities and curricula. If you know of someone who fits this description, please let me know, and I’ll pass the principal and school names along to Charlotte Fox, the director of the Arts Council.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE I am receiving more school library censuses every day, so don’t be shy or feel like you’ll be the only or last one. If you need one of those pesky forms, please send me an email and I’ll get another one to you. And who knows, you might even get a nice Red Lantern award if you are indeed the last to turn in your school’s form! And if the prospect of a possible award isn’t enough, just think: if you turn your completed in form, you won’t have to hear from me on this subject again! A big thanks to those who have returned forms to me this week and to Lynn McNamara of the Anchorage School District, who spearheaded a local effort!
GREAT NEW BOOKS? This week, rather than listing more of the new professional books that we’ve received here at the State Library in Anchorage, I am going to turn the tables and ask you to let us know what the best new book that’s arrived at your library this fall is. It doesn’t have to be a 2006 title, just something that you have read or library has just added. You can respond in this blog version by clicking on the grey number to the right of the #10 above. Cheers!
